Patience across Payday: The Role of Scarcity in Commitment Decisions

Holly Dykstra

Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, 2026, vol. 4, issue 3, 956 - 981

Abstract: Individuals often behave impatiently when making financial decisions for the future. This paper tests whether the timing of decisions relative to payday—which leads to temporary but recurring conditions of scarcity—influences their choice. In a large preregistered experiment (n=1,229), participants can adopt a commitment device that binds them to being patient. Participants who make this decision 8 days before their payday, rather than 1 day after payday, are 34% more likely to take up commitment. This coincides with when individuals experience the most financial scarcity and provides evidence that intertemporal decisions are affected by current psychological states.

Date: 2026
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